American Tabloid by James Ellroy was a giant curveball by the hard-boiled detective writer. Those of us who loved his L.A. Quartet didn’t know what to expect when Ellroy finished with the 50s and started on the 1960s. The writing stayed as hard-boiled as ever, but Ellroy upped the scope from Los Angeles to the entire nation with a book that covers Kennedy’s campaign through his death. And what a ride we are on.

American Tabloid is broken up into five sections. The sections are, basically: introduction of the characters, the campaign, Bay of Pigs, the Mob against the Kennedys and the assassination. Our main characters (outside of the historical ones including the Kennedys, J Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes and the mob bosses) are Pete Bondurant, a lackey for Howard Hughes, who is thrust into history more than he expected; Kemper Boyd, an FBI agent who is put onto the Kennedy team by Hoover to destroy the Kennedys; and Ward Littel, who is assigned to anti-communist activities, when he really wants to work on anti-mob activities.

The basic storylines are well known and well worn, but Ellroy drags us through the underbelly of the the nation to show us the drug trade, the conspiracies and the anger that fueled Ellroy’s version of the Kennedy assassination conspiracy. The mob is involved in Cuba and gets upset, naturally, when Castro throws them out. They help Kennedy win and help the Bay of Pigs set up. When the Bay of Pigs goes belly-up, they blame Kennedy and have him assassinated. It’s not a new story or a new theory. But Ellroy tells it in style. By following our three main characters, we can see how each group is affected by the actions of the other groups. And we’re led down to the inevitable history.

Ellroy has seamlessly moved from detective novel to political thriller without changing his style, but simply by expanding his scope. It’s a wonderful read for those who enjoy their conspiracies and those of us who enjoy a sharp, well-written book. Highly Recommended.

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